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27. Emily Rafferty

President

Working with a shrunken budget, Ms. Rafferty shepherded the largest museum in the nation through the recession, only to see it emerge stronger than ever. Last year, the Met, where Ms. Rafferty has worked for 36 years, attracted a record 5.2 million visitors; officials expect similar numbers this year. Its current operating budget is $220 million.

Now the 62-year-old executive is overseeing plans to create a branch of the Met at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s former building on Madison Avenue.
Ms. Rafferty is also chairwoman of NYC & Company and a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.